Fall dinner party...

 

I am hosting a little birthday celebration here at the house in the next few weeks and I have been searching for inspiration.  There are so many wonderful ideas that I think I will be mixing many of them together for our party.  Long harvest style tables with linen table clothes greenery and simple place settings.. so many things to think of now onto desserts and appetizers.  Any suggestions??

 

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Natural table decor

 

Are you getting ready for fall dinners, holiday meals?  I love love the simplicity of this table and the fresh herbs.. Perfection...

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Awesome Grilled Pork Chops with Adobo Paste Rub

I don't post things like recipes very often but I just had to share this one with you! Especially since it's summer and lots of us are grilling. I don't know about you but I find that I tend to grill the same things over and over - mostly chicken. If you've never had grilled pork chops, you MUST try this!

This recipe is amazing! And it's so easy! 

Great with either bone-in or boneless pork chops, this rub can also be used on chicken, and you can adjust the heat by increasing the pepper flakes (or decreasing as the case may be). Even my eight year old (who is currently the pickiest eater in the world, by the way) couldn't resist giving these a try and gave them two thumbs up. Dude, trust me, try them, you will love them!

Ingredients

6 Thick-cut boneless pork chops

Adobo Paste (recipe below)


Adobo Paste

6 Thick-cut boneless pork chops

2 & 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Paprika

1 & 1/2 Tablespoons Oregano

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic power OR 1 Tablespoon fresh minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin

1 & 1/2 teaspoons Red Pepper flakes

2 teaspoons Lemon juice

1 & 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper


Directions

Mix all ingredients together except for the pork chops to form a paste.
Rub the paste all over each pork chop.
Grill on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes per side.
Check internal temperature with a meat thermometer so that they reach 160 degrees F in the center.
This recipe makes enough paste for what is shown in the photo - 6 thick cut pork chops.

Enjoy!

Dinner with friends...

 

I am always curious- do you entertain?  Do you often have dinner with friends?  I always see beautiful images of big dinners with wine and wonderful food, beautiful flowers and lovely menus.  Do you do this?  I always want to belong to a great group of people who gather together to share a wonderful long meal but I never seem to make the time to do so.  

If you do gather with friends I have some questions.. 

Do you do it often?

Do you enjoy it?

How do you get people to participate and return the favor?

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Easy Chicken and Biscuits

This is another recipe that lots of friends have asked me to share, so here it is! 
This is one of those good old standbys that is fast and easy to prepare. It's also 
a real comfort food that disappears quickly - there are never any leftovers! 
For this recipe, you can either cook your own chicken or use a prepared 
rotisserie chicken instead.

Ingredients

The meat from 1 precooked rotisserie chicken, chopped or shredded 

(OR if you prefer, you can cook your own chicken. You will need about 2 & 1/2 cups, which is about 3 breasts)

1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup

1 can Campbell's Cream of Potato soup

1 & 1/2 cups of milk (I use 1% milk)

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 & 1/2 cups frozen broccoli florets
1 & 1/2 cups frozen veggie mix (I use one that has corn, carrots, peas and green beans)

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 can refrigerator biscuits

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease or spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. (Casserole or lasagna dishes work well for this recipe.)

In a large bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer on the slowest speed for just a few seconds) combine the chicken soup, potato soup, milk, and shredded cheese, and mix until combined. Then add the broccoli, veggie mix, black pepper, and chicken. Mix again, until all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, until mixture is simmering.

While casserole is baking, prepare the biscuits. Because I use refrigerator biscuits for this recipe, they are often the large or grand size, so I cut each biscuit into quarters before I add them to the casserole. This way, they will bake quickly and evenly, and you won't be stuck with any that are uncooked in the centers, which can happen when you use large sized biscuits. I think the finished dish also looks nicer this way too!

When casserole is finished baking, remove from oven and lay the biscuits on top of the casserole. Return the casserole to the oven and bake, uncovered, for an additional 13 to15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown. 

I use kitchen scissors to cut the "Grand" sized uncooked biscuits into quarters

This way, the biscuits will cook more evenly and thoroughly than if you put them on whole

Before going in the oven

Finished!

Delicious!

What do you think?

Farm to table {a wonderful evening}

On Saturday I was lucky enough to attend a wonderful dinner hosted by Andrea @ French Basketeer.  It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather and an amazing meal.  We were welcomed by the candle lit stairway and walked into the heart of the space, a covered loggia.  Everything was just perfect from the rosemary in the ice buckets (I will be using that one thank you very much!) to the singer who entertained us for the evening.  

A beautiful table with vintage dishes, silverware and linens.

 It is all in the details...  the water bottles were to die for!  These are the Christian Lacroix glass bottles for Evian. 

Andrea made a wonderful meal that I am still telling my family about.  I must make that Burrata with peach and tomato.  

I will say that the desert table was my next favorite.  Each creation was a wonderful temptress, and the display was really perfection.

 

It was so perfect to get a chance to talk with Andrea after the meal and meet her sweet little babies.  Andrea, it was beautiful and the food was fantastic, thank you for including me!   

I love a good party and this one was filled with a great group, great food and in a beautiful setting.  I think that each time we visit with another we have the opportunity to learn so much and take a bit of that experience along with us to share with others. It is also an amazing thing to meet people through blogging and be invited into their lives and homes in such a special way, who would have guessed what a small world this has become.